Argento: Twilight Maiden
by Shidou Haruka
Summary: The Hundred Year War, a period of English and British history where heroes would rise and fall, a period of conflict that would ravage the land of France until the coming of the Maid of Orleans, or so it was said in the history books. But in a world where Angels and Devils live, history is not exactly as what is written in the books.


**Chapter 1: Beginning of a Legacy**

Sacred Gear, a weapon created by the God of the Bible for humans to use as a defense against the forces of supernatural. Everyone in the supernatural world knows what it is. They want it, they crave it. These powerful artifacts could tip the balance of the supernatural world just by existing. That is why the name of their forbidden move is Balance Breaker, those who breaks the balance.

Amongst all the numerous Sacred Gears, there are thirteen Sacred Gears that possesses the title of Longinus, sacred gears so powerful that they can kill Gods if used correctly. Telos Karma. Innovate Clear. Absolute Demise. Incinerate Anthem. Sepiroth Graal. Canis Lykaon. Regulus Nemea. Divine Dividing. Boosted Gear. Dimension Lost. Annihilation Maker. Zenith Tempest. And True Longinus. These are the names of the thirteen god-slaying weapons known to the supernatural world, each with fearsome power and reputation that makes even gods wary.

But where did Sacred Gears come from? It is well known that the Sacred Gears are created by God but no one, not even the Angels closest to God knew anything about its conception. They just suddenly exist. They are suddenly part of the system. They are suddenly a part of the world.

How was it made? For what purpose were they made? None from the lowest rat to the highest ranking gods in the supernatural knew… none except those who had been forgotten by history.

Every great work has a beginning. Sacred Gear is no exception to this. Before the creation of the Sacred Gears and the emergence of the Longinus, there is only one Sacred Gear, the one that serves as basis for all. Nobody knew of its existence as it is a special sacred gear, a sacred gear that was a part of yet also not a part of the system.

Sleeping inside the original Sacred Gear is the being that helps God in its creation. This is the story of the wielder of the original Sacred Gear.

* * *

-A.D 1428, Autumn, France, the era of Hundred Years War

The war between England and France continue. All the while, a peculiar pair is traversing the countryside of France. One is a young man with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a brown cloak and the other is a woman with golden hair and green eyes wearing a white dress. Though if a normal person were to look, they would only see the blonde young man and would not see the woman.

"Marie, can we rest for a while?"

The young man asked. The young woman, Marie, who had been floating, yes floating, ahead stopped and nodded. It's midday and they have been travelling without rest since before the sun even rose. It might not be a problem for Marie who is not human but for her companion, it's about time that they get some rest.

The young man,Valen went to gather the stones and woods necessary to make a fire. Marie who had taken on corporeal form then uses her magic to pull out their belongings from inside a separate space, a storage dimension, and set up the cooking appliances. Valen also caught a wild boar for them to roast. He also stayed away once Marie use her magic to ignite the fire using but a flick of her finger. While waiting for the boar to roast, the two of them talk about the war between England and France.

"The war is still going strong even after decades."

Marie said in a saddened tone

"It can't be helped. As long as people have desires and there are those who oppose said desires, conflict will happen."

"I don't like it. Why can't we just have peace?"

"…me too Marie, me too."

Valen answered. The mood had darkened by then as the duo continued to eat silently. They're currently in France but they take care not to get too close to where the war is, at least, for now.

Why is Valen, a citizen of the Holy Roman Empire, in France? It is because they heard that the person spearheading the English force is a wielder of a Longinus class sacred gear, a class of sacred gear said to be able to kill even gods. As the wielder of the zero sacred gear, he felt a need to investigate this. Because this is not what the sacred gears are supposed to be used for. It is not supposed to be a weapon of war, but to protect humanity.

After their lunch, they packed their things and again Marie throw all of them into her storage space and lead Valen to their next destination, the village of Domremy. It is the closest village she knew as she had travelled France before and it is also far enough from the war for them to stay and prepare to head into lands that can become a battlefield at a moment's notice.

As they approached Domremy, Marie felt something. The closer she gets to Domremy, the stronger the feeling is. And it is rather familiar but she cannot put where she had felt it before. So before they entered the village, Marie took on a corporeal form and walk beside Valen. The blonde man raised an eyebrow at this but did not comment.

"Excuse me."

"Oui, how can I help you?"

The girl who was sitting by the fence of the farm at the edge of the village look up to Valen. She has long blonde hair and from her fair, youthful features and height, Valen estimate that the girl is around fifteen years old. She's also rather cute but Valen is not the type to notice that especially since he's used to Marie's otherworldly beauty.

"Me and my companion are new around here. Can you show us where we can stay the night?"

Valen politely asked with a smile. The girl replied in kind with a smile of her own and stood up and leapt over the fence.

"We have a small inn in the village. It's called the Prancing Pony. I'll show you the way."

Valen thanked the girl. She seems to be kind and helpful, a nice girl overall. Valen followed the girl with Marie close behind him. But it was not until they were halfway to the inn that he felt Marie tugging on his cloak. He stopped and turn to Marie, looking straight at her eyes as his companion pointed at the farm girl.

"She has a sacred gear, a Longinus."

Marie said. That managed to surprise Valen. He saw from the corner of his eyes that Jeanne had also stopped and waiting for them to continue walking. This is unexpected. They came to France looking for a known Longinus and now they accidentally came across a new Longinus wielder? How probable is that? But…

"Did Marie do good?"

Marie asked while tilting her head cutely. Valen smiled. Marie might be an ageless spirit but her innocent nature that she managed to kept after witnessing everything that happened from the eyes of his predecessors always managed to make his day better. So in response, Valen gently pat her head, making her happy.

"Good job Marie. Now we just have to figure out what to do from here."

When Valen had heard about sacred gears and its general purpose, as deterrent against the supernatural, and how it's used now by their wielders, especially in the Crusades, Valen wanted to stop them. He hates war as it brings only sadness and pain, to use humanity's shield against the supernatural as a weapon against each other is just wrong so he decided he would try to stop them… knowing full well of his limited capability. But after hearing the designation for his own Longinus, Valen just can't leave it alone.

And now there is one Longinus who could be guided down the right path. But first, Valen wants to get to know the girl to see where she would stand. Valen went after the girl who is waiting for them ahead.

"I'm sorry for that. My companion is… not good with crowds."

Valen told her while making out a plausible explanation for their delay, which is not entirely wrong but not the real reason either. Marie has always been a shy girl and even right now she's hiding behind Valen, not even looking at the girl who became their guide.

"Will she be okay?"

The farmgirl asked with a hint of worry. Valen chuckled and wave off her worry.

"She will be fine. Despite her looks, she is quite strong."

Valen answered. He still remembered what happened to the last group of people trying to do anything to Marie when she was walking around without him. Their… execution was quite swift and messy. After that brief pause, the three walk in a slow pace towards the village until they reached the inn.

"Thank you for helping us find the inn. My name is Valen Argento, a traveler from the Holy Roman Empire."

"You're from the Empire? We do not see anyone from there often, mostly mercenaries. Ohh and I should probably introduce myself. My name is Jeanne D'arc."

It was Autumn of the year of our lord 1428. Although a great maiden will start her tale in the following year, it was this very meeting which actually began the story of the Maid of Orleans. Many would hear her rise in the Siege of Orleans, but the true beginning known only to Jeanne D'arc herself is the moment the Maiden met the Twilight.

* * *

 **This is the rewrite of the Argento Legacy series, the last rewrite, I'm sure of it. The first and biggest modification I made here is the replacement of my OC sacred gear spirit, Eterna, replaced with a character I poached from Dies Irae, Marie, or Margueritte Breuil, or also known as the Goddess Tasogare. The second is a subtle change of Valen's personality where in the original version he was weaker and Eterna was the one who has to motivate him, here Valen is stronger while Marie is a pacifist. One of them needs to be the proactive one so that's another change. The last change that is also subtle is that the Jeanne D'arc I use as base for appearance and personality had changed. I'm using the Bladestorm: One Hundred Year War version of Jeanne D'arc. Though to be honest I haven't reached that stage in the game since I'm bad at strategy games but I got to know her in Warriors Orochi. While Fate Jeanne is good, I find Bladestorm Jeanne to be a better fit for this story. So this is it, the rewrite. I'll make sure that it will be better than the old version at least.**


End file.
